


Of Gods and Men

by Jevil_Joss



Category: RWBY
Genre: Gen, Human Sacrifice, Religious Cults, Spoilers: Volume 4 (RWBY)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2019-11-21 20:35:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18147116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jevil_Joss/pseuds/Jevil_Joss
Summary: This work is discontinued, though I have definite plans on rewriting it on a later date.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This work is discontinued, though I have definite plans on rewriting it on a later date.

Fabrius Del Toro de Fernandez didn’t normally bash cultists with his warhammer. Well, he did, he just didn’t normally see them.

The silver-robed cultist slammed into one of the ancient pillars in the temple. Heads rolled--literally--as his friend and associate, Kania Lupia struck them down. She was a wolf Faunus, wearing tight black pants and a black jacket that wasn’t buttoned. She didn’t wear a shirt, but she did wear a bra, and refused to listen to Fabrius’ suggestions on the subject.

He thought it was stubbornness.

She blitzed, activating her Semblance, turning into a black shadow, rushing across the room, and landing at his feet as half a dozen cultists landed dead.

These men were evil. They deserved. At least, that’s what he told himself. Convinced himself.

As he hit another cultist, he paused. “Was that all of them?” He stepped over an unconscious--knowing Kania, dead--cultist, his pink boot clicking against the stone cobblestones. He, in contrast to Kania, wore bright pink shirt, jeans, and cape, and his stylishly-fashioned hair...was also pink.

He strode across the room. “Vulkin? Laurel? Where the hell did you two get off two?”

The two came into the room.

“There you are!” cried Laurel, grinning. She held up a small, silver gem.

“We found it,” Vulkin laughed, “in a back room.”

The gem matched the one in Fabrius’ right glove, which glowed with magic older than the temple they stood in. “Ah. You might want to put that in your sword, Vulkin.”

A hand reached around Vulkin and snatched the gem. “No you don’t,” Qrow Branwen snapped. “That ain’t happening.”

Vulkin and Laurel leapt away from the doorway. “How did you--”

“Gun _down_ ,” Fabrius told Kania firmly as she, almost instantly, had tried to fire upon Qrow.

“Now, Qrow,” Fabrius started, “let’s discuss this _without_ killing each other.”

“Yeah, I never met her, but now’s the wrong time to try bringing her back,” Qrow said simply. Never was one for long speeches. “What you’re doing could have disastrous consequences.”

Fabrius took a deep breath.

“Summer didn’t think so.”

Qrow stiffened. “And look where she ended up.”

Laurel held up her whip as Vulkin straightened his black coat. There was far too much black in Fabrius’s crew, he realized.

Laurel slashed out, slashing the back of Qrow’s hand and around, hitting a pillar. The gem flew off to the side, where Vulkin leapt to grab it. Laurel grinned, at Qrow. “Well, enough of tha--”

“ _Laurel, look out_!”

The pillar she’d hit, by chance, happened to have been weakened by the fight. And now, it fell.


	2. Gods and Chance and Fate

Ruby Rose could barely keep from saying “sneak” over and over to herself. Then, she attacked. 

“ _ Weiiiiiiiis! _ ” She threw her arms in a bear hug around Weiss’s shoulders. 

“ _ Gah! Ruby? What are you-- _ ”

“Mandatory team bonding exercise!” Ruby cried. “Professor Oobleck is visiting an ancient temple a hiker stumbled upon in the Emerald Forest, and  _ we _ are going with him!”

Pulling herself free from Ruby’s hug, she snapped, “And the sneak-attack was because…?”

Ruby blinked. “...because we’re...frieeeends?” 

Weiss sighed. “Oh, Ruby, you really need to work on that.” She shook her head. “Well, let me go pack.”

“Already done for you,” Ruby said. “I had Yang and Blake do that while I came to you.”

“Wait.  _ Yang _ is doing  _ my  _ packing?”

“...”

“Ruby…”

“Do I have to answer that?”

Weiss sighed again, rubbing her forehead. 

  
Miraculously, they managed to get to the desired location within an hour. Oobleck knew of a clearing a short distance from the temple, and had parked the jet there. It was a short walk to the temple, and they left their luggage on board the jet. 

“You might be thinking,” Oobleck said, taking a sip of coffee from his thermas, “why bring luggage for a 28.874 minute jet ride?”

“...Um, I actually hadn’t thought of that…”

“Well, a 28.874 minute ride equates to an hour gone every day. Since we’re going to be here for two or three days, that’s just under 3 hours total wasted! So, I figured we’d camp out and repeatedly go in and out over the time we would spend here!” he said in one breath before taking another sip of coffee. 

“I suppose that makes sense,” Blake said simply. 

“Ah-ha! Here we are!”

It looked more like a castle than a temple. It was huge, Weiss guessed at about a hundred feet, and covered in pitch black holes. 

Blake immediately stepped forward and sniffed the air a few times. 

“What is it?” Yang asked her. 

Blake frowned before answering. “Fresh blood.”

  
The portcullis appeared locked, but the wood had rotted away and the metal was so rusted that one hit from Ruby’s scythe broke it. They rushed inside, looking around. “Split up and search,” Ruby said. “Watch out for Grimm, and anyone wounded.”

“We don’t know what we’re facing,” Weiss pointed out. “Wouldn’t it make more sense to go in groups of two?” 

“Actually, yes,” Ruby said. “Blake, you go with Weiss. Yang, you’re with me. Professor Oobleck…”

“I’ll do some perimeter scouting,” he said. “And if anyone needs backup, don’t hesitate to call me!”

They separated. 

“Hello?” Yang called out. 

“Anyone here?” Ruby shouted, her voice echoing. They ran into another room, which appeared to be the nave, and walked forward, between the pews. When they got to the end, Ruby jumped up onto what she thought was the altar and examined the statue situated behind it. 

It was of a woman wearing armor, with a humongous pair of feathered wings and a pair of deer antlers sprouting from her head. She was staring lovingly down at the altar, with outstretched arms. It appeared to be made entirely out of silver. 

Ruby reached out and traced her finger along the arm. “Blood,” she whispered. Yang jumped up beside her. 

“Yikes.”

“What do you think happened here?”

“Probably a hiker or something. Maybe an animal got in and died earlier?”

“But the portcullis was up. No one could have entered. And it seems like there’d have to be a lot of blood for Blake to notice from all the way in the courtyard.”

“Hmm...but why haven’t we seen anything, then?”

Their conversation was interrupted by a scream. 

“Weiss!” Ruby cried, running down the passageways, where she’d last seen Weiss. “This way!” Oobleck called out to her, beckoning down a passageway. Ruby rushed ahead to see a very pale Weiss exiting a doorway. 

“What is it?” Ruby asked. 

Weiss stumbled away from the door, fell to her knees, and vomited on the ground. 

As Yang and Oobleck came up, Blake exited the room as well, equally pale. 

“What is it, child?” Oobleck asked her. 

Yang pushed past Blake, then stopped short. 

“Good gods,” she whispered. 

Oobleck and Ruby walked over to her, wondering what it was. 

It was another nave, exactly like the one seen earlier, except that on this altar was a woman’s corpse, pinned to the altar with a large dagger. The corpse was covered in cuts and scrapes and bruises. In one of its hands, the statue held a silver gem, covered in blood. In the other, she held a bowl. 

Oobleck, grim and silent walked forward into the room and up the altar. He stretched out his hand and closed the corpses eyes. He peered into the bowl before saying, “It’s full of blood.” He reached out and delicately took the gem. Wiping it off with a rag, he strode back to where Team RWBY stood. “This looks similar to a Dust crystal,” he said. “Mrs. Schnee, do you recognize the type?”

Weiss, still pale, shook her head. Ruby sat down next to her and passed her a bottle of water. Weiss rinsed out her mouth and spat out the water. “Thanks,” she croaked, handing the bottle back to Ruby. 

She took the gem from Oobleck. “It’s clearly similar to dust, but it’s...not. I...it...it just seems that way.”

“Due to the situation, I’ll assume that this gem probably has something to do with whoever was using this place.”

Weiss lifted the gem, eyeing it carefully. “Wonder what it is.”

“With luck, we’ll find out. So that whoever did this...will be  _ stopped _ .”

Yang paused, standing by a broken pillar. “Wait, I think…” She crouched down. “Guys, I think there’s someone underneath this thing.”

The five of the them gathered around. Weiss didn’t have any pockets, so she simply held the odd gem. 

Ruby started moving aside the pile of rock, then stuck her hand into a pile of gravel. She yanked it out quickly. “I touched something!”

“What kind of something?” Oobleck asked. 

“Um...cold? And...fleshy.”

Giving Oobleck a look, Yang started moving the pillar. After a hard minute of pushing and shoving, the five managed to move the pillar. Weiss set the gem down on the ground. 

The pillar was on top of a corpse. “Who do you think this person was?” Weiss asked. She reached out and touched the green hair. 

“ _ Laurel… _ ” Ruby whispered. 

“Who?”

“A friend of our parents...went with them to Beacon…” Yang said quietly. “Gods...she...she’s  _ dead _ .”

“We need to get out of here,” Blake said. 

“What? No, we need to find more clues about who did this--” She stopped short. The building rumbled uncomfortably. 

“It would appear that the building is collapsing,” Oobleck said. “We would be wise to get the gem and this departed woman out as fast as possible.” A piece of rock fell onto the ground next to him. 

Weiss snatched up the gem as Yang and Ruby picked up Laurel’s corpse. “Quickly now! Follow me!” Oobleck said, leading them back down the path they’d come from. “Hurry now!”

“It would be better if you stopped saying that,” Yang growled. They ran through the ruined gateway into the courtyard. Just as they exited the building, it immediately collapsed, dropping. Smoke and dust spewed from the rubble as the five rolled clear. 

Coughing, Ruby rose, staring through the thick layer of smoke that had covered everything. 

“Why did it suddenly collapse?” Yang asked, coughing. 

“Thank the Gods,” Weiss exclaimed. “I thought for a second I’d dropped the gem. Nope, still have it.”

“We don’t even know if it’s important, though the fact that the building collapsed as soon as the gem left its place probably says something,” Oobleck said in one breath. He took a sip from his thermus, then erupted into a coughing fit, spitting out large amounts of dust that had apparently gotten into his coffee. 

Ruby took a hesitant step, then tripped. Staring, she realized she’d tripped on Laurel’s corpse. 

She reached over and touched the shoulder. Weiss leaned over, doing the same. 

The corpse’s eyes flickered open. Warm heat flowed through the body for a split second. 

“Aah!” cried Ruby, snatching her hand back. Weiss jumped, the gem flying from her hands. Immediately the eyes close, and the corpse grew cold again. 

“What just happened?” Blake demanded, picking up the gem. 

“Put the gem back in her hands,” Oobleck commanded. Blake did so. 

Laurel coughed. She rose unsteadily. “Whuh…?”

She dropped the gem, and fell back down to the ground. Yang grabbed the gem, and made Laurel clench it in her fists, holding it closed. 

Laurel bolted upright. “The HELL?”

“You were dead,” Ruby said simply, lacking words for anything else. 

“I noticed!” She coughed. “Why are you holding my hand…?”

“Cause last time you dropped this gem-thingy, you died,” Yang said. “Er, again.”

“‘Kay. Don’t drop magic gem.” She lifted the gem up to look at. “Ah. So that’s what did it.”

“You...know what it is?”

Laurel didn’t answer. “Do any of you have a phone?” she asked. “I need to call someone.”

“What is going on?” Yang asked. “We find your corpse inside a temple where people appear to have practiced  _ human friggin’ sacrifice! _ ”

Laurel opened her mouth, closed it, then said, “I probably owe you an explanation.”

“Yes. Yes you do.” Blake spoke softly, staring at Laurel with wide eyes. 

“Right. Okay. I am Laurel Wreath. So, long story short, there was a gal. Gal did thing. Guy responded by doing other thing. People argued over whether or not Gal actually did Thing.”

The five of them gave her dumbfounded looks. 

“How about,” Weiss suggested, “we return to the jet and talk about this on the way back to Beacon?”

“Er, sure.”

 

**Twenty-five years ago…**

Summer Rose pulled out her sniper rifle. “Got eyes on Pinky. Gods, we need to think of a better name for this guy.”

“For someone so large, he’s incredibly stealthy,” Qrow said over the comm. 

“Yeah. Like...a ninja Ursa,” Tai added. A cawing sound came from his end of the line. 

The man Summer stared at stood just about seven feet tall--from her estimate--and was dressed from head to toe in bright, sparkling pink....with sequins. Huge pink boots, long gloves, shirt, pants, hair, and the cape he wore. Everything--except for the silver gem sewed into his glove. 

The man entered a store. “I can still hit him,” Summer said. “We could probably skip this whole infiltration-plan.”

“Don’t worry, Summer. What could possibly go wrong?” Tai asked. Raven cawed loudly. 

“Many things,” Qrow said. “Many damn things.”

“Sorry. Did not realize I spoke ‘The WORD’,” Tai said dramatically. “Hey, Raven, if I hold you like this, do I look like a falconer?”

“Caw.”

“Fair enough.”

“He’s leaving,” Summer said. “He got...another cape? How many does he need?”

“One for every week day,” Tai commented. “Duh.”

“Well, Qrow, if you will?” Summer said. 

“You know my Semblance doesn’t work like that, right?”

“Just...just do it.” 

Sighing, Qrow walked over to the big man and--on purposely--bumped into him. 

“Sorry,” he said. 

“No wor--”

An anvil hit him in the head. Summer blinked as she saw the anvil clang to the ground. Where the hell had it even come from? But it gave Qrow the distraction he needed. He stole the guy’s wallet and took off running. 

Summer would normally have had moral qualms with the plan. However, if they were right, then this guy was involved in multiple murder cases, and he deserved everything they were going to bring on him. 

“An  _ anvil _ ?” Tai said, questioningly. 

“It actually screws up quite a bit,” Summer stated, pursing her lips. 

“He’s back up already,” Qrow said. 

Swearing like she couldn’t in front of Professor Ozpin, Summer trained her gun on Fabrius, who was chasing down Qrow. 

“Stop! Thief!” She noticed he was missing the glove. 

“Did you steal his glove?” she asked. 

“It looked important, and it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if we discovered it was stolen.”

“It  _ is _ stolen. You just stole it.”

“I’m sure it’s fine,” Tai said. 

“Caw,” said Raven. 

“Raven, fly high, find a way out for Qrow where can exit. Er, one caw means left, two means right.”

“And she’s gone,” Tai said. 

_ Shit. _ “How fast can this guy run?” She trained her gun on him, then shot him. 

The rubber bullet bounced off his head. He didn’t even seem to notice. 

“Oh, fu--” She jumped off the building. She wore a mask, so no one would connect anything she did to who she was. So she pulled a grenade out and threw it at the guy. Smoke spewed out. 

“Caw! Caw!” 

Qrow cut to the right. Summer intercepted him and ran alongside him. 

“The smoke grenade should help,” she said. 

“Where did you even get that?”

“Legally.”

“Tell me you’re joking.”

“I don’t take orders from anyone.”

The side street they’d run down was blocked off by a fence. Summer activated her Semblance, turning into a flurry of white petals, and she simply went through the fence. Qrow landed on the ground beside her. 

“Show off,” he grumbled. 

“Jealous?”

“Why I called you a show off.”

  
They managed to get back to their room in Beacon without incident. Qrow presented the spoils. 

Raven, still drying her hair after her shower, stared at it. “His phone, wallet, and...glove?”

“It looked important,” Qrow stated. 

Raven rolled her eyes. 

Summer picked up the phone and started scrolling throught he contacts list. “Lots of people here. Someone called Kania Lupia, Draco...McLast...name…” She frowned, but continued. “Norton Allistair. And…hey. That’s the beacon academy phone number.” She squinted. “Who the hell is Laurel?”

“Any last name?” Raven asked. 

“No.”

A knock came at the door, and Ozpin entered. 

“Summer, I had something I--” He saw the stuff on the table. “Oh no. Not again.”

“Look, it was an actual criminal this time,” Summer said. 

Raven glared at Summer. “You said Ozpin knew about this.”

“Uh…” She backed into the corner. “Well, he knew about our past things, so...I figured, he’d be...uh…”

Ozpin picked up the glove, but at that his face went white. “Where the  _ hell _ did you get this?”

“Um…”

“Summer.” He never yelled, Ozpin. Somehow it made his anger scarier. “You always jump in without finding out the situation. Fabrius isn’t a criminal,  _ he’s an actor _ . The gem? Isn’t stolen. It was something he bought from an archaeological site. He’s carried it around for  _ decades _ .”

Summer didn’t answer. 

“Wait.” Tai held up a hand. “You... _ lied  _ to us?”

“Well, I figured...you guys wouldn’t do it unless I told Ozpin, and...Ozpin would tell us not to...and, well, he was...I thought he was…”

Ozpin rubbed his forehead. “Summer.” He sighed. “I’ll return his stuff. With luck, we can patch things up.” He left, carrying away the glove, phone, and wallet. 

“You...lied.” Qrow said simply. He generally wasn’t angry. Raven showed hers differently. She was white with anger. She strolled over and opened the window. “I’m getting some fresh air before I _ fucking murder you _ , Summer.” She jumped out, and a small black bird flew off. Summer couldn’t take this, and rushed out the room, sobbing. 


	3. Circle of Grief

The small bird flew down, fluttering past a pillar and turned back into Raven. She leaned against it, sighing, trying to regain her composure. 

“Whoa,” a feminine voice said. “Um, wow. Did you just...turn into a bird?”

_ Great. This is going to be fun _ . 

“Some Semblance, huh?”

Raven took a deep breath.  _ Please go away. I don’t like you and I don’t care to like you. _

A small, green-haired girl peered around the pillar at her, wearing school uniforms. 

“Oh. You’re that Raven girl, right?”

“Do I know you?” Raven asked. 

“We’re in the same class.”

Raven sighed, slumping against the pillar, and sitting on the ground. The girl sat next to her. “You look upset.”

“Where’d you get _ that _ idea?” Raven snapped, glaring at her. To her surprise, the girl didn’t even flinch at the sudden outburst. 

“I have experience with angry people,” she said. She smiled, but Raven felt that there was something more to what she said. She looked off to the side. 

“So, who is it that you’re mad at?”

“Summer.”

“The, uh...the girl in white? With the scythe?”

Raven nodded. “We were going after someone who I thought was murderer--she said she thought he was the guy who did the...she said the Sustrai case.”

The girl whistled. “That guy?”

Raven frowned. “What is it?”

“You...don’t do politics much, do you?”

“I’m...well, I’m a foreigner,” Raven said sheepishly. 

“Well, just continue.”

Raven shook herself. “Well, she  _ said _ that she’d gotten the go-ahead from Professor Ozpin. She didn’t. And the guy wasn’t even a murderer. There are plenty of murderers out there. I mean, why would she lie about this?”

“The Sustrai murderer killed a child’s parents.  _ Both  _ of them. No one even knows what he did with that poor girl.”

Raven blinked. “What?”

“Both parents dead, and the child...that girl’s under a year old. She’s been missing for several months.”

“ _ Gods _ …” That would explain it. If Summer had thought she could get that girl back…

“Doesn’t change that she lied. But you can understand it now, right?”

Raven nodded. “ _ Damn.  _ Did not think... _ damn, _ ” she said again. 

The girl grinned. “Glad to help.”

“So, uh, what’s your name, actually?”

“Oh, it’s Laurel. Laurel Evergreen.”

  
Yang leaned back in her seat. 

“So. This girl--who has a name, but you’re...not supposed to say it...for...some reason...had great power. Other people...began to...worship her...because of this?”

“Yeah. And, as you saw in the temple, they sacrificed humans to her. However, at the time, it was questionable whether or not she  _ asked _ or wanted them too. Without finding out, the local wizard--apparently there were a lot of them back then--trapped her in a pocket-world-thing. For all eternity.”

“A...wizard,” Ruby said. 

Laurel chuckled. “Yes.”

“If there was magic in this world,” Weiss asked. “Where is it now?”

“A few certain places.” Laurel displayed the gem, which she’d tied a string around and turned into a necklace. “There are four of these, each of which is uniquely tied directly to her power. There’s also, I know,  _ something _ with magic at Beacon Academy. I don’t know what, though I suspect Fabrius does.” She frowned. “Last I asked, he simply said, ‘I can’t answer.’”

“I’m sorry,” Ruby blurted. “I can’t get over the fact that there were wizards.”

Laurel laughed. “Sorry. You just...reminded me so much of your mother when I explained this to her.”

“Summer never told us anything about that,” Yang said, frowning. 

“I reckon there’s a lot of things she didn’t tell you,” Laurel replied. “Things...I’m not sure I’m at liberty to tell you.”

“Does Ozpin know?” Oobleck asked from the pilot’s seat.

“Definitely. He plays chess with Fabrius every Saturday, despite...well, Ozpin thinks that the girl with the power--we just call her ‘Big Sal’--actually  _ wanted _ to be thought of as a god. So he sends people to stop us--we call ourselves the Crew, and we think that Big Sal deserves a second chance. So we try to free her. But to do that, we need all four of  _ these _ .” She gave her gem a tap. 

“Looks like you’ve got your work to cut out for you,” Blake said. 

  
Fabrius moved the rook forward two spaces, held his finger there for a minute, then released it. “Hmmph.”

Ozpin took a sip from his coffee, then knocked over the rook with a bishop. Removing the rook from the board, he said, “Check.”

“Damn,” Fabrius said. “You don’t screw around.”

“No, I don’t.”

“You could at least let me win once in a while.” He moved his king to the right. 

“If I let everyone I could beat at chess win, I’d never win,” Ozpin replied with a smile. He moved a pawn-- _ a pawn _ \--and said, “Check and…” He paused. “Mate.”

Fabrius stared at the board for a minute, then lightly tapped his king, knocking it over. “You are too good at this, Oz.”

“How is Vulkin?” Ozpin asked, setting up the board for a second game. 

“He’ll be fine. He’s upset now, but it was the same when he lost Robert. Tia left, but he...he was upset for about a week, then he got better.” He returned his king to its starting spot. “How’s Qrow?”

Ozpin looked to a birdcage where a small, black bird sat sickly on its perch. “Bad.”

Fabrius also looked at the cage. “Oi. Remember how he was when Raven and Summer got into that fight?”

Ozpin grimaced. “Yes. He’s not good with grief.”

Fabrius nodded. “Not everyone is. And unfortunately, you don’t get better with familiarity.” He paused, then moved a knight out. 

“There is, indeed, too much grief in this world.” Ozpin moved a pawn out. 

Fabrius sighed. He picked up his knight, moved it, then knocked Ozpin’s pawn over. He paused, his finger on the piece. 

“I always take out a lot of your pieces early game,” Fabrius pointed out. Frowning, he moved his knight to a different spot instead. Ozpin straightened in his chair, frowning, taking an intense sip from his coffee. 

  
Emerald stared at the picture. 

“Who is this guy?” Cinder asked. Salem leaned back. “Someone who disagrees with Ozpin. He also happens to disagree with me. However, I don’t need him to agree with me--I need him to disagree with Ozpin. He has one of his gems--the Laurel girl has a second. We have a third, and the fourth--” She paused. “Well, let’s not focus on  _ that  _ one for now. The thing is, if we give this one to Fabrius now…”

“...he’ll start fighting Ozpin,” Cinder finished. “So, another of your division plans.”

Salem actually thought Cinder was cute. Untrained, but cute. “Yes. So if you can get it to him...but he can’t know you’re the one giving it to him. He does know about me, so you have to make it to where it looks like he just finds it...and where did your subordinate go?”

Mercury and Cinder looked around. Emerald was gone. “Uh, Em?” Cinder called out. She ran a hand through her hair. “Where the fuck did she go?”

“Language,” Arthur called out from his seated position across the room, idly flipping through his book. 

Cinder flipped him off, then turned back to the room. “Emerald!”

Salem rose. “Hmm...now... _ this _ ...gives me an idea.”

  
Emerald packed several things of bullets into her bag. She packed fire dust, ice dust. Hefting it over her shoulder, she checked to make sure her pistols were loaded. Holstering them, she turned around and saw Cinder leaning against the doorway. 

“I don’t have a clue where you’re going,” she said simply, “but...Salem said to give you this.” She handed Emerald the gem. “She said...that if you plan to kill this Fabulous guy…”

“Fabrius.”

“Whatever. She said you wouldn’t stand a chance without it.” She paused. “She said, just wear it as a necklace or something.”

Emerald took it, then frowned at Cinder. “Okay…”

Cinder paused. “She...also prepared you a Griffon so you could easily catch up to him, but...well, I know how you don’t like the Grimm…”

“I’ll ride one.”

Cinder blinked. “What? Em, what...what’s going on?” 

Emerald Sustrai took a deep breath. “Personal things, Cinder. I’ll...try to come back alive.” She paused. “At least, I don’t plan on dying to that bastard.” She scooted around Cinder. She noticed Salem watching from a hallway ahead, and hoped she wouldn’t say anything to her. Unfortunately, Salem reached out and put her hand on Emerald’s shoulder. 

“For the record,” she said, “Fabrius being in charge of the Crew is bad for me. For whatever reason you hate him, it would be better if a different member of the Crew could be in charge, for my plan to work.” She paused. “Also, Cinder seems to be...quite fond of you. I’m worried about how your death would affect her. I am willing to give you a few things to reduce your chance of dying.”

“Will they help me kill him?” Emerald asked quietly. 

Salem chuckled. “My dear, survival is as sharp a tool as a blade. But yes, I have a couple of magical relics that could easily enable you to kill him.”

Emerald nodded. “Let’s see what you got.”

  
Vulkin leaned against a wall. Fabrius and Ozpin stood next to him. 

“How’s the bird?” Vulkin finally asked. 

“Bad, but he’ll live.” Fabrius paused. “You don’t blame him for it, do you?”

“Never blamed him for Summer, so I won’t start now. Gods know, it ain’t what Laurel would want.” He gave a watchful eye to some passing students. 

Peter Port stuck his head around a bend. “Hey, Oz. You wouldn’t happen to know a ‘Laurel Evergreen’, wouldja? Because Bart called, saying someone of that name was wanting to talk to you.”

Ozpin spat out his coffee. Vulkin looked at him sharply, and Fabrius jumped up. “Is she still on?”

“Um, yeah--” Fabrius took the phone from him. “Laurel?”

“You’re on speaker,” a familiar voice said from the other side. 

“We’ll discuss this when you come back,” Fabrius said. He passed the phone to Port. 

“Well?” Vulkin asked. 

“It was her.”

  
Emerald stepped off the Griffon, in the middle of Forever Falls. The Griffon screeched at her. She looked down at the green, leather gauntlet Salem had given her, a large ruby on the back of her hand. 

She’d also given her a second magical amulet, in addition to the silver gem. She’d also given her a special kind of dust, saying, “It could help.”

Emerald strode towards Beacon, both guns pointed up. She probably wasn’t going to win. But she needed to try.


	4. Blood-born Vengeance

Fabrius, Ozpin, and Vulkin stood on the roof of Beacon Academy as the jet landed. From it, stepped Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, and Laurel Evergreen. She gave a wave. “Hey there!”

They began walking over. “If it’s a fake, it’s a damn good one,” Vulkin whispered.

Ozpin sipped his coffee. “And what do you think, Fabrius?”

Fabrius thought for a moment. “I am beginning to think there was a reason people started worshipping her.” He strode towards Laurel. “So. You’re not dead.”

She displayed the gem. “Yeah, I think this has something to do with it.”

“That...would make sense.”

“Professor Ozpin!” Oobleck zipped across the roof. “I have made some rather alarming discoveries about the composition of the gem!” He began waving a sheet of paper around, talking too fast for anyone too decipher.

“Oobleck, slow down,” Ozpin said. “I can’t understand a word you’re saying.”

“Look at these readings!” Oobleck said, showing him the paper. “I’d expect readings like this from a Grimm that’s been chewing on radium for several decades!”

Ozpin looked over the paper. “Yeah, that’s about what I expected. I doubt those things are too healthy.”

“Oh, shut up, old man,” Vulkin said, walking away, towards Laurel.

“You’re older than I am,” Ozpin pointed out.

Vulkin wrapped his arms around Laurel in a hug. “Don’t worry me like that.”

“Oh, um, before I forget again…” She took a step back and looked him in the eyes. “I, uh...left Bane at the castle...and it kinda...collapsed…”

Vulkin sighed, giving her a look. “Again?”

“On the bright side,” Fabrius said, “I don’t think anyone else is going to pick it up and carry it off this time.”

  
Green boots crunched on the gravel as Emerald jumped off the Griffon. There _had_ been a castle here--there just wasn’t anymore. She strode across the field of gravel.

In the center, she stopped, and leaned over. Reaching out with a leather gauntlet, she dug out...a whip. An odd one, covered in thorn-like spikes. It, she knew, belonged to one of the member’s of Fabrius’ so-called Crew.

She couldn’t track him down with it. Or at least, not without Salem’s help.

From her pack, she pulled a small lamp made of black glass. It looked much like a genie lamp. She poured out a fine black mist, which coalesced into a Grimm.

“So, Fenrir,” she said. She stretched out the whip, which the huge, black wolf sniffed. A pair of eyes, one red, one gold, looked at her face. “Ready to hunt?”

 

“This bird looks familiar,” Yang said.

“It belongs to Qrow,” Ozpin said. “He had to go on a longer mission than normal, so he gave it to me to take care of.”

“Qrow has a pet crow?” Yang said. Then she laughed.

Laurel examined the sheet of paper. “Oobleck, are you sure about this?”

“Positive,” he replied. Peter Port had also joined them.

“These readings...I’ve seen them before,” Ozpin said. “From a Grimm Salem created when she had one of the gems.”

“Who’s Salem?” Ruby asked.

“Later,” Ozpin told her.

“So…” Fabrius said. “Someone messed with this one.”

“Possibly. Then again, I don’t think it would be healthy to wear one of these if someone _hadn’t_ messed with it. On the main topic, this might be the same one Salem had back then.”

“When you say, created a Grimm, what do you mean?”

“She turned a wolf into a Grimm,” Laurel said. “You heard about the urban myth of Fenrir?”

“That thing?” Ruby said.

“Gods,” Yang said. “I thought that thing was a myth.”

“All myths have a basis in fact,” Blake replied.

“What the hell is Fenrir?” Weiss demanded.

“She’s a foreigner,” Ruby told Laurel.

“I hardly think I qualify as a--Gods, I’m a foreigner,” Weiss realized.

“Well, Fenrir is supposedly, half wolf, half Beowulf. He has one gold eye, and one red eye, and hunts people.”

“Wait. This Salem person’s still alive?” Yang asked. “That’s...scary to think about.”

“Let’s just say that I’ve got a firm handle on the situation,” Ozpin said, glaring at Laurel. “And it’s kind of a _sensitive topic_ , so I’d prefer it if you didn’t _tell_ anyone.”

“I suppose that’s fair,” Laurel replied.

“So, back to the main topic,” Oobleck said. “The most worrying thing about this gem is that it seems to be disrupting Laurel’s Aura.”

“Disrupting, how?” Fabrius asked.

“It’s flickering on and off unpredictably,” Oobleck said. “But that her _soul_ , her very being, is fluctuating this way--” He shook his head. “Also, her heart isn’t beating, and every once in a while, she forgets to breath for a minute.” He looked at Laurel and Vulkin. “She is not fully alive anymore. And I’m not sure if she’ll keep whatever Semblance of life she’s got.”

“Okay.” Laurel said. “On the bright side, I’m here now…” She paused. “Right?”

Oobleck shrugged. “I barely understand what the readings mean scientifically. I’m not even going to try to explain what they mean philosophically.”

“You could try taking it off for a little while and seeing if that resets it. Fixes it.” Ozpin suggested.

“You know, if you’d suggested that this morning, I’d have slapped you,” Vulkin said. “I still might, Teach.”

“Fabrius, do you know of any other temples like the one we saw?” Blake asked. “Maybe we could find something out from another one.”

“Yes, actually.” He gave Ruby a look. “Though if you want to come along, I shall have to warn you: I’ve seen some really disturbing things in these.”

Ruby took a deep breath. “My friend got hurt. I need to help.”

Fabrius nodded. “Alright then.” He turned to Ozpin, who nodded. To Ruby, Ozpin said, “Be careful, Ruby. There are some...things that could be in some of the Temples. Things that can’t be easily dealt with.”

Ruby nodded. “Let’s do this.”

  
“ _It’s a flying boat!”_ Ruby squealed, bouncing back and forth from one end to the other. Kania sat on a crate, watching her like a fox watched a chicken. Fabrius was concerned by this, but Kania seemed more intent on screwing with Blake than anything else.

“She reminds me too much of her mother,” Vulkin said.

“I know,” Fabrius replied.

“Did you know Summer?” Yang asked Fabrius.

“Yeah. Took me a bit to warm up to her, though.”

“Why?” Yang asked.

“...Let’s just say, we got off to a rough start.”

Vulkin laughed. “Hah. That says it all.”

_“Flyyyyyying booooooat!”_

Weiss flinched. “What’s wrong?” Yang asked her.

“It’s...nothing. Just developed a headache since this morning.”

Fabrius frowned. “Say. Which one of you carried the gem out of the temple?”

“I did,” Weiss replied.

“Why?” Yang asked. Blake looked away from Kania and gave Fabrius a curious look.

Fabrius’ frown deepened. “I suggest getting some rest. And having a talk with Norton.”

“What is it? You don’t think it’s something serious, do you?” Weiss asked, a worried expression crossing her face.

“That was the same gem Laurel now has,” Fabrius replied. “It’s probably nothing. But it wouldn’t hurt to be safe.”

Ruby stopped, then jumped onto a crate besides Kania. “Is something up?”

“Just a headache,” Weiss answered. “Hopefully. I’ll, uh, go take a nap.”

“Did something happen?” Ruby asked.

“She hasn’t been feeling well since she picked up the gem at the temple, so I suggested she go take a nap.”

“She’s gonna be okay, right?” Ruby asked, worried.

Fabrius smiled. “She’ll be fine.” He knelt on one knee and looked Ruby in the eye. “Come on. Everyone’s okay, right? Most likely, it’s just a regular headache.”

She gave him a look. “What are you doing?”

“Encouraging you.”

“Yes, but, why are you kneeling?”

“Look, I’m too tall, kay? Gimme a break.” He rose, dusting off his pants. “Draco! How long till we reach Katast’s Trophy?”

“Soon, Cap’n!” the green-haired man called from the crow’s nest.

“Stop calling me that.”

“Sorry, C--Fabrius.”

“What’s Katast’s Trophy?” Blake asked. Kania started playing with Blake’s hair, and the latter responded by smacking the former.

“A cliff. The temple was built on top of it. There’s a peculiar legend around it. Centered around someone who goes by the name Woot. Kania, quit it. Anyway, this Woot person shows up in a lot of legends under a lot of names--sometimes one, and in one in particular, he goes by Ozma, but that one’s not particularly clear.

“So. Woot. He’s wandering through the woods, his pet monkey on his shoulder. He finds a thatch hut standing on the top of the cliff, full moon shining bright upon it. He wanders close…”

 

 

Ruby couldn’t stop laughing as she walked off the gangway. “That...how did he…?”

“That was ridiculous,” Blake said, barely concealing a smile herself.

“Words cannot express that story,” Yang said. “And you’re telling me some people actually believe it happened?”

“As ridiculous as it seems,” Fabrius grinned, “yes.” He straightened. “The temple ahead is...let’s just say difficult. It is very important: if you see the gem in there, or any gold or jewels, _do not pick anything up_. Does everybody understand?”

“Yeah, I guess. Why?”

Fabrius shook his head. “It’ll be easier to explain when we get there.”

The temple looked like the other one, but this one’s door was opened. Or rather, broken. 

Stepping over several broken splinters, Fabrius said, “We’ve been here before. It’s...difficult.”

“Hey! These are some realistic statues.” Ruby said, examining a statue of a Beowulf. 

“Those aren’t statues.”

Ruby yanked her head out of the not-statue’s mouth. 

Fabrius walked over and rapped on its head a few times. “Petrified. There are Grimm that can do it, but in this case it’s a spell. A trap. The people who built this temple, they set a trap for anyone who came to loot the temple’s gold or the special gem. 

“Katast was the one who built it. The temple was named the Temple of Calamity, for anyone after the gem would awaken all the Grimm and all the humans. No matter what you are, you would be fighting people who weren’t on your side.”

“And not just regular Grimm,” Vulkin said. “The Grimm here went down in history as terrors of Remnant.”

“Fenrir would pale in comparison besides some of these,” Fabrius said. “The False Savior, the Basilisk, Cerberus, the Apocrypha Incentive…” He shook his head. “Things that no one could hope to control.”

“Who’s this guy?” Yang asked, pointing to a statue of of someone in a suit of armor.”

“That is the aforementioned False Savior,” Fabrius said. “He could and would kill you without a second thought.”

“Gods…” 

They walked into a building in the center. In the center of the room was a dragon’s head, bursting out of the floor, mouth opened. It, like everything else, was petrified. 

Actually, the girl to its right wasn’t. 

The girl had a panicked expression, and she stood immobile. One of her outstretched hands was holding a silver gem. Her black hair was styled so it covered one of her eyes. Several other statues stood around her, all reaching towards the gem. 

“So, did you, like, paint one of the statues, or something?”

_ “Does it look like I’m a statue?”  _ the girl cried. She was sweating. 

Fabrius took a step towards her. “Huh. If I had to guess, you came in, thinking you’d get treasure, and then met the trap.” He sighed. “You’re lucky that whatever you did screwed it up. Otherwise, you’d have been eaten by Chompy over there.” He thumbed at the dragon.

Vulkin walked over, then rapped on her head. “So, were these guys here last time?” 

“Those look like White Fang members,” Laurel said. “And that guy with the sword looks like he was in charge.”

Blake walked over towards the statue. “A-adam?” She touched it. 

“You know him?” Yang asked. 

“Yeah.” She shuddered. “You know, I’m just glad he’s petrified.”

“Sounds like an asshole,” Vulkin said bluntly. He rapped a few times on his head. “Wait. Aren’t they all conscious?”

“Probably,” Fabrius replied. 

“Oh. You’re an asshole,” he told the statue.

Blake struck the statue hard and fast with her sword. Sparks flew. The statue remained unharmed as Blake stumbled backwards. 

“Yeah, I’ve tried that,” Fabrius said. “They’re indestructible.”

“Could’ve warned me,” Blake said as Yang helped her up. 

“I would’ve if I had known he was  _ that  _ kind of person,” Fabrius said. 

_ “Can someone get rid of this fucking gem now _ ?” the girl screeched. 

“Who even are you?” Fabrius asked. 

“Cinder. I am Cinder Fall.” She appeared to barely have herself under control. She stopped as Fabrius leaned over and then toppled. 

He quickly jumped up. “There was an invisible statue there last time I was here,” he said. 

“Don’t need to justify yourself; we already know you’re a dork,” Vulkin stated with a shrug. 

“ _ Vulkin. Where’s the statue now? _ ”

Echoing quietly around the building, a distant, mocking laugh was heard. 


	5. AWAKEN

Weiss stood on the deck. She looked off it into the surrounding forest.

“This has a very surreal feeling,” she said. “Like...the reflection in a puddle of water.”

“Took me a while to get over it, too,” Kania replied, leaning over the balcony. Weiss just caught something shining fall from her hair.

“You wear jewelry?” she asked.

Kania caught it and stuffed it in her bra. “It’s nothing,” she said quickly. Weiss frowned. Kania caught her look, turned a light red, then removed the necklace from her bra. It was an odd, cross-shaped pendant. “Fabrius told her some people worship _Her_ , right?”

“You’re one of them?” Weiss asked, surprised.

“Not as extreme as sacrifice,” Kania said quickly. “It’s just...I’m not from the any of the Four Kingdoms. I’m from an island tribe off in the far west. I was a priestess there.”

“Wow,” Weiss said.

Kania nervously tapped the railing.

“Um, this may seem off-topic, but are you aware of how much is showing?” Weiss asked, nodding towards Kania’s open shirt.

Kania’s wolf-ears on top of her head flattened. “It’s a choice,” she said defensively.

“Yes, but don’t you think it would be more modest to wear something less-- _revealing_?” Weiss asked.

Kania glared at her.

“Guess that’s answer enough,” Weiss said, looking out into the forest.

  
“Does it really matter where that one single Grimm went?” Cinder snapped.

“It does for these ones,” Fabrius said.

“What Grimm even was it?” Ruby asked. “If we know that, we can try hunting it.”

“The Apocrypha Incentive is an order of Grimm devoted to whispering the most cursed lies imaginable to everyone they see,” Fabrius said. “They’re invisible. They’re mostly incorporeal. If you do manage it hit one, it’ll reform in about ten minutes. They also mess with your mind, altering the base reasons you do what you do.”

“Okay, that’s pretty bad,” Blake said. “Um, how do you get rid of them permanently?”

“Nothing we have at our disposal works,” Fabrius said.

“That implies that there is a way,” Cinder stated.

Fabrius grimaced. “With enough magical fire power, you _can_ permanently destroy one. Problem with that, the closest thing to a mage we know of is--” He sighed. “Ozpin.”

“Then why didn’t we bring him here?” Vulkin asked.

“This is just about the last place I’d like to show Ozpin to,” Fabrius told him.

“But if there’s something here that only he can kill, wouldn’t it have made sense?” Blake said.

“Let’s just say he and I have had some disagreements,” Ozpin said from behind Fabrius.

Fabrius jumped backwards. “How the--”

“Did you think I’d let my students go into the temple of a crazy psycho-cult filled with petrified Grimm?” Ozpin asked, taking a sip from his coffee.

“ _Can someone get this gem now_?” Cinder cried.

“The magic that’s wrapped around the gem is old,” Ozpin said, “and not fully functional anymore.” He thought for a minute. “Think about it like computer lag. Old computers would get a lot more lag than newer ones.” He considered. “Once we take the gem from Cinder’s hand, we’ll have about a minute before the rest of the statues are unpetrified. More worrying, I’ll need both hands to be able to kill the Apocrypha Incentive, and Cinder will be paralyzed for a short amount of time.”

“I can carry her,” Fabrius said.

“Uh-uh,” Vulkin said. “We need you for some of the bigger Grimm. You’re one of the most skilled fighters here.”

“I can do it,” Yang said.

“I can cover you,” Ruby said.

“And I’ll scout ahead,” Blake added. Ozpin looked at Fabrius. “Well?”

Fabrius scratched his chin. “We could probably get to the door like that...we’d probably end up running into the False Savior there. As long as nothing was waiting for us outside, we could probably rush past him.”

An ear-splitting roar sounded from a distance away. It sounded like it came from outside the temple.

“Scratch that,” Fabrius said. “We need to do this now so we can hope to pass whatever that was.”

“I can take the Apocrypha Incentive if you can take the Savior,” Ozpin said.

“Like old times, eh?” Fabrius grinned. “Damn. And after all the work we did putting him in here…”

“Wait. Can’t we deal with the thing outside first?” Cinder said. “I have far too many problems with this plan…”

Laurel reached over and plucked the gem out of Cinder’s hand. Cinder immediately collapsed to the ground. The light in the room--coming from a window in the ceiling--turned red.

“She’s been dead for hours now,” Laurel stated. She tied the gem to a piece of twine, and wrapped it around Cinder’s wrist.

“Wha...what happened?”

Yang lifted Cinder onto her back. “We need to run now,” she said.

“I’ll scout ahead,” Blake said, rushing forward.

“Alright. Let’s--” Ruby was cut off as a beam of light was hurled past her head. A scream rang in her ears, and she caught the faintest impression of ghostly hands--withered, long, and faded--falling away from her shoulders.

“Don’t stop moving,” Ozpin said. “Everyone, _run!”_

The next ten minutes were living hell.

Weiss stood on the deck. She looked off it into the surrounding forest. 

“This has a very surreal feeling,” she said. “Like...the reflection in a puddle of water.”

“Took me a while to get over it, too,” Kania replied, leaning over the balcony. Weiss just caught something shining fall from her hair. 

“You wear jewelry?” she asked. 

Kania caught it and stuffed it in her bra. “It’s nothing,” she said quickly. Weiss frowned. Kania caught her look, turned a light red, then removed the necklace from her bra. It was an odd, cross-shaped pendant. “Fabrius told her some people worship  _ Her _ , right?”

“You’re one of them?” Weiss asked, surprised. 

“Not as extreme as sacrifice,” Kania said quickly. “It’s just...I’m not from the any of the Four Kingdoms. I’m from an island tribe off in the far west. I was a priestess there.”

“Wow,” Weiss said. 

Kania nervously tapped the railing. 

“Um, this may seem off-topic, but are you aware of how much is showing?” Weiss asked, nodding towards Kania’s open shirt. 

Kania’s wolf-ears on top of her head flattened. “It’s a choice,” she said defensively. 

“Yes, but don’t you think it would be more modest to wear something less-- _ revealing _ ?” Weiss asked. 

Kania glared at her. 

“Guess that’s answer enough,” Weiss said, looking out into the forest. 

  
“Does it really matter where that one single Grimm went?” Cinder snapped. 

“It does for these ones,” Fabrius said. 

“What Grimm even was it?” Ruby asked. “If we know that, we can try hunting it.”

“The Apocrypha Incentive is an order of Grimm devoted to whispering the most cursed lies imaginable to everyone they see,” Fabrius said. “They’re invisible. They’re mostly incorporeal. If you do manage it hit one, it’ll reform in about ten minutes. They also mess with your mind, altering the base reasons you do what you do.”

“Okay, that’s pretty bad,” Blake said. “Um, how do you get rid of them permanently?”

“Nothing we have at our disposal works,” Fabrius said. 

“That implies that there is a way,” Cinder stated. 

Fabrius grimaced. “With enough magical fire power, you  _ can _ permanently destroy one. Problem with that, the closest thing to a mage we know of is--” He sighed. “Ozpin.”

“Then why didn’t we bring him here?” Vulkin asked. 

“This is just about the last place I’d like to show Ozpin to,” Fabrius told him. 

“But if there’s something here that only he can kill, wouldn’t it have made sense?” Blake said. 

“Let’s just say he and I have had some disagreements,” Ozpin said from behind Fabrius. 

Fabrius jumped backwards. “How the--”

“Did you think I’d let my students go into the temple of a crazy psycho-cult filled with petrified Grimm?” Ozpin asked, taking a sip from his coffee. 

“ _ Can someone get this gem now _ ?” Cinder cried. 

“The magic that’s wrapped around the gem is old,” Ozpin said, “and not fully functional anymore.” He thought for a minute. “Think about it like computer lag. Old computers would get a lot more lag than newer ones.” He considered. “Once we take the gem from Cinder’s hand, we’ll have about a minute before the rest of the statues are unpetrified. More worrying, I’ll need both hands to be able to kill the Apocrypha Incentive, and Cinder will be paralyzed for a short amount of time.”

“I can carry her,” Fabrius said. 

“Uh-uh,” Vulkin said. “We need you for some of the bigger Grimm. You’re one of the most skilled fighters here.”

“I can do it,” Yang said. 

“I can cover you,” Ruby said. 

“And I’ll scout ahead,” Blake added. Ozpin looked at Fabrius. “Well?”

Fabrius scratched his chin. “We could probably get to the door like that...we’d probably end up running into the False Savior there. As long as nothing was waiting for us outside, we could probably rush past him.”

An ear-splitting roar sounded from a distance away. It sounded like it came from outside the temple. 

“Scratch that,” Fabrius said. “We need to do this now so we can hope to pass whatever that was.”

“I can take the Apocrypha Incentive if you can take the Savior,” Ozpin said. 

“Like old times, eh?” Fabrius grinned. “Damn. And after all the work we did putting him in here…”

“Wait. Can’t we deal with the thing outside first?” Cinder said. “I have far too many problems with this plan…”

Laurel reached over and plucked the gem out of Cinder’s hand. Cinder immediately collapsed to the ground. The light in the room--coming from a window in the ceiling--turned red. 

“She’s been dead for hours now,” Laurel stated. She tied the gem to a piece of twine, and wrapped it around Cinder’s wrist. 

“Wha...what happened?”

Yang lifted Cinder onto her back. “We need to run now,” she said. 

“I’ll scout ahead,” Blake said, rushing forward. 

“Alright. Let’s--” Ruby was cut off as a beam of light was hurled past her head. A scream rang in her ears, and she caught the faintest impression of ghostly hands--withered, long, and faded--falling away from her shoulders. 

“Don’t stop moving,” Ozpin said. “Everyone,  _ run!” _

The next ten minutes were living hell. 


	6. The Revelation of Adam

Blake rushed ahead, scouting, and Ruby stayed behind everyone else, acting as a rear guard. Quickly, Blake rushed back to them. “The way we came is blocked! A stone wall appeared in the path.”

“To the right!” Fabrius said, pointing. “I’ve been through here many times before!” Ruby opened fire, rapidly shooting and killing three separate Beowulves.

“We need to move!” she said. They took the right path. Ruby fired over and over again, hitting Beowulves. Occasionally, another Grimm appeared, scarier ones. Most of them she barely even noticed--they were shot down with the rest of the Beowulves.

“This isn’t as hard as I thought it would be,” Ruby stated. “I even have a moment to reload myself.”

Blake came back, running.

“What is it?” Fabrius asked.

Blake didn’t answer--instead, she pulled out Gambol Shroud and opened fire upon Fabrius.

“ _Die, unbelievers!”_ she cried, slashing the unharmed Fabrius.

“I can’t get a shot!” Ozpin said, aiming his spell. Blake leaped over Fabrius and kicked at Ozpin, who blocked with his cane.

“Blake, snap out of it!” Ruby said, rushing towards Blake. Blake spun towards her, then lunged. Her eyes were wild. Then a gunshot rang out. The bullet passed right by Ruby’s cheek, cutting her, and went behind Blake. Then, it suddenly slowed down and hit the ground. An inhuman screech was heard as a shadowy figure jumped off Blake’s back--it looked vaguely like the shadow of something that looked humanoid. It had no eyes, no visible legs, and it’s mouth was full of teeth, but it had no tongue. On top of it’s head was a crown-like object. Then it dissipated like smoke from a chimney.

Ruby caught Blake as she fell to a sudden stop. Ruby turned around, seeing a man in a black overcoat. He had a sheathed sword in his hand, which appeared to also be a shotgun, and over his eyes was a Grimm mask.

“Adam,” Blake whispered. Adam took a step, then stumbled over. Another figure came out and caught him--it looked like a member of the White Fang.

“We need to get out of this damnable place,” Adam said simply. “I, for one, have no desire to be a statue again.”

“Yes, well, we need to move in order to get out,” Vulkin said. He turned his scimitar into two small pistols, and opened fire on an approaching Beowulf.

“And we need to be careful,” Fabrius said. “Blake, are you--”

“I’m fine.” She rose to her feet, shaking.

“If you can fight, help take out these Grimm!” Ozpin said. He whacked a Beowulf with his cane, severing its head with apparent ease. Blake nodded. She turned to Adam. Adam nodded slowly.

“If we want any way out, we’ll have to work together,” he said simply. He drew his sword. “Faunus! I need you to open fire upon any Grimm that shows its head!”

A chorus of gunfire sounded. “This way!” Fabrius said, rushing everyone forward. A Beowulf lunged him, and he _punched it._ He didn’t use the hammer that he’d been carrying on his back. He just punched it, which appeared about as effective.

Blake rushed ahead, scouting, and Ruby stayed behind everyone else, acting as a rear guard. Quickly, Blake rushed back to them. “The way we came is blocked! A stone wall appeared in the path.”

“To the right!” Fabrius said, pointing. “I’ve been through here many times before!” Ruby opened fire, rapidly shooting and killing three separate Beowulves. 

“We need to move!” she said. They took the right path. Ruby fired over and over again, hitting Beowulves. Occasionally, another Grimm appeared, scarier ones. Most of them she barely even noticed--they were shot down with the rest of the Beowulves. 

“This isn’t as hard as I thought it would be,” Ruby stated. “I even have a moment to reload myself.”

Blake came back, running. 

“What is it?” Fabrius asked. 

Blake didn’t answer--instead, she pulled out Gambol Shroud and opened fire upon Fabrius. 

“ _ Die, unbelievers!” _ she cried, slashing the unharmed Fabrius. 

“I can’t get a shot!” Ozpin said, aiming his spell. Blake leaped over Fabrius and kicked at Ozpin, who blocked with his cane. 

“Blake, snap out of it!” Ruby said, rushing towards Blake. Blake spun towards her, then lunged. Her eyes were wild. Then a gunshot rang out. The bullet passed right by Ruby’s cheek, cutting her, and went behind Blake. Then, it suddenly slowed down and hit the ground. An inhuman screech was heard as a shadowy figure jumped off Blake’s back--it looked vaguely like the shadow of something that looked humanoid. It had no eyes, no visible legs, and it’s mouth was full of teeth, but it had no tongue. On top of it’s head was a crown-like object. Then it dissipated. 

Ruby caught Blake as she fell to a sudden stop. Ruby turned around, seeing a man in a black overcoat. He had a sheathed sword in his hand, which appeared to also be a shotgun, and over his eyes was a Grimm mask. 

“Adam,” Blake whispered. Adam took a step, then stumbled over. Another figure came out and caught him--it looked like a member of the White Fang. 

“We need to get out of this damnable place,” Adam said simply. “I, for one, have no desire to be a statue again.”

“Yes, well, we need to move in order to get out,” Vulkin said. He turned his scimitar into two small pistols, and opened fire on an approaching Beowulf. 

“And we need to be careful,” Fabrius said. “Blake, are you--”

“I’m fine.” She rose to her feet, shaking. 

“If you can fight, help take out these Grimm!” Ozpin said. He whacked a Beowulf with his cane, severing its head with apparent ease. Blake nodded. She turned to Adam. Adam nodded slowly. 

“If we want any way out, we’ll have to work together,” he said simply. He drew his sword. “Faunus! I need you to open fire upon any Grimm that shows its head!” 

A chorus of gunfire sounded. “This way!” Fabrius said, rushing everyone forward. A Beowulf lunged him, and he  _ punched it. _ He didn’t use the hammer that he’d been carrying on his back. He just punched it, which appeared about as effective. 

“There’s the exit!” Vulkin said. Blake jumped ahead of everyone else, rushing out. 

“Hold on a se--” He cut off as a boot slammed Blake out of the way the moment she went out the exit. “Daaaaammit!” Fabrius cried, lunging out the door, withdrawing his hammer from his back.

“Blake!” Ruby called. She jumped out the doorway and and landed in a crouch beside Blake. A cut had appeared on the side of her head. She opened one her eyes--something appeared wrong with the one on the side of her face with the cut. “I’m...okay…”

“You are in no way fine,” Yang said, dumping Cinder on the ground. The black-haired girl let out an “Oof!” as she hit the grass. 

“Why did you do that!” Ruby asked. 

“I just needed...to get out…” She shuddered. “That Grimm...it messed with my head. I...couldn’t think for myself...it put together all the puzzle pieces for me...but it was all so  _ wrong. _ ” 

Adam landed beside her, neatly stepping over Cinder. “You all right?”

“Yeah.”

“Hey, boss?” one of the White Fang members said. “You oughta see this.”

They all turned to see Blake’s attacker standing at the opposite side of the clearing. 

Never since that day, nor ever in her past had Ruby ever met anything quite like the False Savior. Clad in gold and black armor, with a billowing black cape, he had large gauntlets and boots. He didn’t have a sheath for his oversized broadsword, so he held it on his shoulder. His golden helmet had multiple stylistic spines reaching behind him, and it only had a single hole for what was presumably an eye--Ruby couldn’t see anything through the hole, though. It wasn’t just his appearance--if you looked at him, you just thought _ , that’s a hero _ . 

Cause that’s what he was. He was the most heroic figure that she’d ever seen.

He had one leg positioned on a boulder. “You’ve gotten slower,” he said simply. 

“I’d say you’ve gotten faster, but you’ve been petrified for the last few decades,” Fabrius replied. 

“Another mistake you’ve got to learn to live with.”

“Who said I’m regretting it?” 

The shape of the eye-hole didn’t change, though Ruby got the distinct impression he was glaring at Fabrius.

Ruby got up. “Ruby, get back,” Ozpin said, raising a hand to block her. 

“Why?” she asked him. “Why should I sit back and watch as my friends get hurt over and over again? Why, Professor?”

“In this particular case, it’s because this one is too tough for you,” Ozpin said. “You’ll get you’re--”

“And what is it exactly that you’re denying her?” the Savior demanded. “The chance at vengeance?”

“You stay out of this,” Ozpin said, waving his cane at the Grimm. 

“Know this, Silver-Eye: If you fight me, I will not hold back. I will most likely kill you. Do you still wish to continue?”

“You’ll have to catch me first,” Ruby told him. The Savior stretched out a hand, and gave a taunt, saying, “Come at me, Hero.”

“Ruby, do--”

Ruby lunged past Ozpin, striking the Savior with Crescent Rose. Sparks flew as metal grated against metal, but the Savior didn’t seem fazed. 

“Ruby!” Yang called, getting up to help her sister. 

“No!” Fabrius said. “You get everyone back to the ship. I’ll make sure your idiot sister doesn’t get herself killed.”

“Besides, you’ve got to help Blake and the others,” Ozpin said. “Some may need medical attention.”

Yang gritted her teeth. Vulkin put his hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, champ. I think that the three of them have the situation well under control.”

“Lying never helps anything,” Fabrius stated, striding towards the Savior. 

Ozpin walked besides him. “You are aware of how the fight went last time, right?”

Fabrius grimaced. “No need to rub it in.”

Vulkin’s hand tightened on Yang’s shoulder. “Come on. We need to get everyone to the ship.”

“Make sure Blake’s alright,” Adam said, unsheathing his sword and charging the Savior. 

“Hold--” Vulkin threw his hands in the air. “Asshole.”

Laurel thumped him upside the head. “Fair enough.”

Cinder rose shakily to her feet. “I can move again, so that’s one thing.”

“Let’s get to the ship,” Vulkin said. “They should have this covered.”


	7. Bull Rush

Crescent Rose sparked against the Savior’s blade. Adam rushed in and slashed at his side, but the Savior deflected it with his hand. 

Both Adam and Ruby jumped back from the Savior. 

“Kay,” Adam said. “I’m...not sure how this is going to go down.”

“I don’t care in the slightest,” Ruby said. “I’m just going to fight this thing.”

The Savior lunged forward, slashing downward at Adam. Adam blocked with his sword, but was thrown backwards from the sheer force. Ruby swung Crescent Rose at the Savior’s head, but he blocked with his hand again. Ruby was knocked backward, but as she was, Fabrius caught her and set her on her feet. Before anything could be said, he parried the Savior’s sword with his hammer. A shockwave spread out, and Fabrius let out a grunt. The ground under his feet cracked. The Savior jumped backward, then jumped farther off, deflecting Adam’s blade with his own. 

“You have skill,” he stated simply. “But there’s one main problem with your fighting style.”

Before anyone could react, the Savior was in front of Adam. Adam didn’t have time to redraw his sword from the sheath before the Savior backhanded Adam. “It takes time to draw one’s sword from the sheath, no matter how fast you are.”

As Adam tried to rise, the Savior rushed over and brought his sword down. To his surprise, Ozpin’s cane not only blocked the blow, but he didn’t appear to have any trouble with it. A few rocket boosters engaged along the side of the cane, helping push back the Savior’s blade. 

“Do you know how much I hate that thing?” the Savior said. 

“Why did you think I brought it?”

“You seek to jest with me, Peace Breaker. Know that I’m in no mood for your mockery.”

“Yeeeeah!” Ruby brought down the blunt end of her scythe on the back of the Savior’s head. Ozpin shoved his sword backwards into the Savior’s face, then, at Adam’s cry of, “Get back!”, jumped to the side. Adam’s hair, clothing, and sword glowed red, and he slashed with his sword. Rose petals flew through the air, and the Savior jumped backwards. The top half of the tree behind him fell off. 

“You mis--” The Savior stopped, and looked at the long, slash mark on his shoulder. 

Adam sheathed his sword. 

“Fine then.” Fabrius lunged at him, banging down on the Savior’s blade with his hammer. Adam slashed at the back of the Savior’s knee, jamming his blade in the cracks between the armor. The Savior dropped to that knee as Ruby jumped forward. She put Crescent Rose, now in gun mode, right up to the eye-hole on the Savior’s head, and fired. 

The three jumped backward as the Savior cried in pain, clutching his helmet. Black, thick blood sprayed the ground. The Savior looked up at them, golden helmet stained black with blood. “You want to fight the War Breaker. I shall fight you then.” He jumped into the air, swinging his sword. Golden lances of energy flew from the blade, and the Huntsmen had to jump out of the way quickly. The Savior landed on the ground, and a row of golden spikes broke through the ground. Ruby jumped backwards over them and Adam rolled aside. Fabrius, however, was thrown backwards into a tree. Ruby fired upon the Savior with her gun, but the bullets bounced harmlessly off his armor. He lunged at her, golden energy blasting from his sword. Ruby ducked and rolled beneath him, but he threw a kick at her, and was hurled against the ground. She came to just in time to roll away from the Savior’s blade. 

She jumped up and away from the Savior, firing several rounds at him. He deflected them this time, oddly enough. Before she had time to ponder upon this, he rushed her, but jumped back, parrying an attack from Ozpin. 

“You are a trouble, Peace Breaker,” the Savior said simply. 

“I take pride in it.”

“Come on!” Ruby said. “We can take him!” 

The Savior cocked his head to the side. “Huh. You...sound like your mother.”

“Wha--” 

The Savior leapt away, flying through the trees with the ease and grace of a deer. Ruby started to run after him, but Ozpin put a hand on her shoulder. “No. He seeks to seperate us.”

“But--but--” She shook her head. “How did he--”

“They fought once. Many, many years ago, back while they were still in school,” Ozpin replied. 

“Wait.” Fabrius held up a hand. “Who’s your mother?”

“Summer,” Ozpin said. 

“You’re…Summer’s kid?” Fabrius looked surprise. “Well then.”

“Also...what was up with that guy? I mean, Peace Breaker? Silver-Eye? War Breaker?” She shrugged, looking to Ozpin for answers. 

“For now, let’s just say that there’s some history here.” Ozpin looked off into the forest. A distant roar was heard. “The Grimm from earlier seems to be coming closer. Let’s move.”

##  **Many years ago…**

Summer ran through the Emerald Forest, collapsing at a heap underneath a tree. She sobbed. It had been months since she and Raven had had a fight. 

Why couldn’t she do these things right for a change? Why couldn’t she stop actual criminals, not archaeologists and con artists? Raven had never believed she was qualified for her job as team leader. Summer was starting to think she was right. 

Branches snapped. Summer looked into the dark woods, and slowly rose to her feet. She reached behind her for her scythe, then realized she’d left it back in the room. 

“Shhhh,” a quiet, calming voice said. She couldn’t pinpoint the exact location of the speaker, but a shadow passing through the trees alerted her to him. “Careful. There are some nasty Grimm in these parts, Silver-Eye. Many would gladly kill you now--defenseless, miserable, and unarmed as you are.”

“Who are you?” Summer demanded. 

“A hero. A defender. A warrior.” A figure clad in gold and black armor strode towards her. He carried a broadsword across his back, underneath his black cape. His helmet had only a single eye-hole in the center of his head. And other than a scratch on the side of his face that appeared to be recent, its armor was unblemished. “To you and all mankind, however, I am simply called the False Savior.”


	8. Twisting the Knife

Summer backed away from the Savior. The latter took a step, then fell to his knee.

“You’re hurt,” Summer thought aloud.

“It is of no consequence,” the Savior stated. “I have a job to do, and there is no one else to do it.”

“You can’t really expect to do anything in that state,” Summer told him.

“I said I was a warrior, not a medic,” the Savior said. “While there are those who practice both, I am not one of them.”

The two stared at each other a minute. Off in the distance, a Beowulf howled, and Summer realized it was late and she was in the middle of the woods, unarmed.

“Well, um, I can, uh, help you if you can keep the Beowulves from getting me.”

“Do you know anything of medicine?”

“Um...I have some bandaids back at our room?”

The Savior said nothing.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

The gold-clad figure laughed uproariously. “Alright then! You of faith, before you agree to help me, know that I am one of the most dangerous enemies of mankind. Do you still wish to continue?”

Summer didn’t know how to respond. He said he was dangerous, he said he was an enemy, could she really refuse to help someone in need?

She extended a hand, which he took. “Deal.”

  
“So…” Kania sat backwards in a chair, hands clasped, staring at Fabrius. “I look away for ten minutes...and you give thirty members of the White-fucking-Fang beds...that we don’t have.”

“Ya know,” Adam stated, “you could've told me that beforehand.”

“Uh, boss, where else would we sleep?” one of the Faunus asked.

“Where are you gonna sleep now?” Adam exclaimed, thrusting his hands into the air.

“Where’s Weiss?” Ruby asked.

“The migraine got really bad,” Kania replied. “Norton told her to go to sleep. I’m starting to think she’s actually sick.”

Ruby bounced back and forth from one foot to the other.

“How sick could she get?”

Laurel held up the gem she wore. “This thing is not good for you to wear. Or, actually, hold, it appears.”

“Then, why are you wearing it?” one of the Faunus asked.

Laurel rolled her eyes. “I’m a walking corpse with a magic life-necklace.”

“We’re in the same boat, and I’d prefer it if you didn’t remind me of that fact,” Cinder said, feeling her pulse again.

“At least you didn’t get stuck with the magic death one,” Laurel snapped.

“Why did we bring her again?” Yang asked.

“Cause Oz told me not to throw her off the edge,” Fabrius commented, rubbing his forehead.

“Believe me, she’s...at least, kinda nicer when you get to know her,” Adam defended.

“She hired an extremist, terrorist organization to do her dirty work,” Blake pointed out.

“First off, that’s fair, second, I said nicer, not good.”

“What did you think I’d do? Leave all my work to Roman?” Cinder shrugged.

Ruby gave her a death-glare. “That was _you_ who hired Roman?”

Cinder was saved from having to answer when a voice called, “Hey, uh, Fabrius? Sir? There’s...someone tailing us.”

Fabrius rose and looked at the White Fang goon who said it. She’d put her mask on the deck beside her and was staring over the edge of the ship.

“There are plenty of other ships out here,” Fabrius said. “It’s not uncommon.”

“Yeah, but...she was riding a Griffon…”

“That is uncommon,” Fabrius replied slowly. He walked over and stared out into the cloud layer. He ran a hand through the dark gray mist as he peered for the Griffon rider.

“There!” the Faunus said. Fabrius stared intently at the rider.

“What’s your name?”

“Kamilia.”

Fabrius gave her something. “Have a cookie, Kamilia.”

The Faunus took it hesitantly, then took a bite.

“Who is it?” Ozpin asked, stepping up beside Fabrius.

“Dunno. Too dark, to stormy...the only reason Kamilia was able to see was because she, unlike some of us, has night-vision. Someone in green armor. Most likely, they’re just--” A silver bullet zoomed through the air and bounced harmlessly off Fabrius’ shoulder. He sighed. “Nevermind.” Another bullet pegged him, this time in the forehead.

Several cracks sounded, and five bullets in rapid succession bounced off of Fabrius.

“His Aura isn’t even engaging,” Adam whispered.

“I...just realized…” Ruby gulped. “That Savior guy? If Fabrius was worried about him, but not about taking a bullet to the face…”

“Yeah, something tells me that that guy’s showing up later,” Yang stated. Ruby walked over to the edge, the sighted the rider through her scope. “Glad I put the zoomy-thingie on,” she said.

“What’s she look like?” Ozpin asked.

“Black hair--I think. Looks dark skinned--kinda like Fabrius, actually. Two pistols, and-- _she has one of the gems_!”

“That’s where the last one went,” Fabrius said. “Well, it would be kind of hard to retrieve it at the moment, unless she came up here, and if I had to guess--” A bullet hit him in the chest with a light _plink!_ sound. “She’s contented with taking pot shots from down there.”

The rider flew into the air, on level with the ship. Very deliberately, she stretched out a gun, pointing it right at Fabrius.

“Who goes around, flying hundreds of feet of the ground, in a crop top?” Kania asked.

“You’re one to talk,” Fabrius said.

“She’s human,” Kania pointed out, “and not resistant to cold like I am. Also, if you’re gonna go for the whole ‘underdressed’ look, why not go all the way?”

The rider fired a single shot that hit right in-between the eyes. It bounced off.

The rider stopped following, simply hovering in midair. Then, she clenched a fist, pounded into her mount, and flew off.

“Hey, she did look like you,” Kania said to Fabrius.

Fabrius leaned on the railing. “Hmm...interesting.”

  
The Griffon landed. Emerald slammed into the ground, cracking the stone beneath her. She angrily picked up several stones and hurled them as far as she could. She threw branches, and every ‘magical’ artifact that Salem had given her. She picked up the lamp that contained Fenrir.

Every last one of these was _garbage_ . She hurled the lamp far away. It slammed into tree, and actually _shattered_. Pieces of bronze scattered across the ground.

“You lied!” Emerald screamed into the air. She kicked the ground, spraying up dirt that hit the Griffon. The Griffon screeched at her, and she responded by snarling at it. The Griffon flinched away from her. “Lying bitch!” Emerald cried, throwing several other artifacts as far away as possible. She hadn’t wanted Emerald to kill Fabrius--or even beat him. She had told her she could, so she’d end up defeated, and the gem would end up in Fabrius’ hands.

She ripped the gem from her neck. She was just about to hurl it, too, when a cool, calm, and collected said, “Actually, that one’s pretty valuable.”

She spun around opening fire upon the speaker. The bullets fired up into a nearby tree, and, of course, sparked harmlessly against a figure in gold and black armor. A helmet lay on the ground underneath the tree, covered in a black ichor. The figure was holding what looked like a piece of cloth to his face. In his other hand he held a broadsword.

“Who the hell are you?” Emerald demanded, pointing both guns at him.

He didn’t even turn to look at her. “Most likely, not the ‘lying bitch’ that you were shouting about.”

Emerald, for some reason she couldn’t fathom, turned a delicate shade of red. “How much of that did you hear?”

The figure shrugged. “I have been sitting here for the past hour.” A drop of rain clunked against the helmet on the ground.

“Who are you?” Emerald asked again.

“By your kind, I am called the False Saviour.”

“And what about by your kind?”

The Saviour looked at her. “Ten thousand years,” he said. “I have been fighting in this God-forsaken war for over ten thousand years, and you are the first, last, and only human to ever ask me that.”

“...”

“By my people, I am called…” He hesitated. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers. “The Steadfast. Yes. That’s what they called me before…” He paused.

“Before…?” Emerald became aware of the increasing rain, but didn’t move.

“Salem. She took over my people, began leading the war. Leading my people astray. Destroying everything.” The figure shook his head. He jumped out of the tree, ignoring the bullet Emerald shot him with as he jumped down. He picked and put on his helmet, then began wiping the ichor off his face. He slung the cloth away after he was done. “I figure you also have problems with her.” Emerald didn’t reply.

“Whoever you thought those relics would kill...I guess they are still alive?”

“What are trying to do?”

“I have realized that my equipment is a little...outdated. I have an acquaintance who can get me what I need. However, he never makes equipment for anyone unless there’s at least two people coming to him.” He held up two fingers. “He can fix up your weapons so you can kill who you want to.”

“What’s the catch?”

“He’s a madman, for one,” the Savior stated. “He doesn’t charge you. He simply does it just to screw over both humans and Grimm. And, if he’s in the mood, God Himself.”

Emerald considered. “You’re sure this guy can help me kill Fabrius?”

“Help? No. Make it possible? Yes. As a side note, you will still have to try your hardest to actually take him down. You may still fail. Fabrius is strong, fast, and wily.”

“If it’s possible, I’ll give it a go.” Emerald extended a hand, which the Savior shook. “Let’s go meet this guy.”

“Also, don’t mention his height. When I did, he hurled me off the top of his volcano.”

“He works in a volcano?”

“It appears I forgot to mention that.” The Savior released her hand. “Let’s get going. It’s raining, and I have my own vendettas to worry about.”

  
Kamilia sat on a bench by the edge of the ship. She noticed when someone sat down beside her, but didn’t look.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“You just did, but sure, ask away.”

“Why do _you_ hate humans?”

Kamilia gave the girl a look. She looked young, younger than she was, and wore a white dress. “Well, it’s not so much of a matter of hate. It’s more of a matter of...most humans hate the Faunus. Kindness and peaceful protests only helped so much. The rest...if humans don’t respect us, they may yet fear us. Which is close enough.”

The girl took a deep breath, then exhaled. Her eyes were closed when she said, and the Schnee Dust Company?”

“They’re different. They employ Faunus slave labor. I hate the Schnees, but that doesn’t mean I hate all humans. I know some humans who are really awesome. Cinder and Torchwick? They’re assholes. But that doesn’t all humans are assholes.”

“So...you compare the Schnees to terrorists? Thanks. I needed your perspective.” The girl got up and started off.

“I didn’t catch your name.”

“Weiss Schnee,” the girl said, walking off.

“Holy shit,” Kamilia whispered. “Umm, right, uh--this is awkward.” She ran a hand through her red and yellow hair.

“Curiosity, what kind of Faunus are you?” Weiss asked.

“Uh...parrot.”

“Oh. That explains the hair.”

“That’s actually just a fashion choice.”

Weiss sat back down, leaning her back against the ship’s railing. “I’ve thought back to all my family members you’ve killed. And guess what? I’ve realized they deserved it. Every. Last. One of them.

“I was kinda upset when they died. Tragedy suddenly hits like a knife in the back. Then the knife gets twisted…”

She chuckled. “Well, thanks for getting rid of those despicable human beings, I guess.”

She turned to Kamilia, who was giving her a horrified look. “Um...are you okay?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“...no reason.”

Weiss frowned. “Then why are you giving me the look like I’m a fox in a hen house?”

“...uh…” She froze, then looked past Weiss. “What is--”

 

Adam rushed out of the cabin as soon as he heard the scream. Fabrius followed immediately after. “What happened?”

“I...I don’t know,” said a Faunus standing nearby. “I just...suddenly heard the scream…”

“Did anyone see anything?” Adam called out. 

Norton rushed down from the crow’s nest. “Uh, Cap’n? I, uh, saw it.”

“What happened?” Fabrius asked. 

Norton bounced from one foot to the other. “Let’s...discuss this in private.”

Fabrius’ expression darkened. “Alright then. Into my cabin.”

They walked off into the cabin. 

“What’s going on?” Ruby asked, beginning to follow them. 

Fabrius warded her off with a hand. “I might tell you after I hear it myself. If it concerns you. Go on, for now.”

“But--” 

Fabrius glared at her. “You are testing my patience. You request to come with me on my ship, but then you disobey every order I give you.  _ I _ am in charge here. If I say you go to the ship, you go, if I say you don’t hear,  _ you don’t _ . Is this clear?”

Ruby backed off a step. Vulkin put a hand on Fabrius’s shoulder. “Chill, dude,” he said. “I get you might be annoyed with her, but yelling doesn’t solve anything.” He turned to Ruby. “ _ You _ are coming with me. We are going to talk.”

He started walking, and Ruby hesitantly followed. He lead them to a corner of the ship where no one was. 

“Do you want to know how Summer met Fabrius?” Vulkin asked. 

“How?”

“She robbed him.”

Ruby blinked. “What?”

“She thought that Fabrius might be, in some way, connected to a murderer. So, she planned a heist, without proof or Ozpin’s permission, went and robbed his wallet so she could find out who his contacts were. She also lied to her entire team about having Ozpin’s permission. And this wasn’t the first time she’d done something like that.”

Ruby stood there, not knowing what to say. 

“Point is, sometimes, the people in charge actually know what they’re doing. So, just let them do it. Kay?” 

Ruby nodded. “Say, um, do you know how the False Saviour...guy...knew my Mom?”

“That there is a whole other can of worms.” Vulkin sat down. “And I’m not really at liberty to tell you, actually. Ask Qrow sometime.”

Ruby sat down next to him. She looked over the edge. “Where do you think the Saviour is?”

“Who knows?” Vulkin said with a shrug. “He could be anywhere, really.”

“Hmm. Hey, have you seen Laurel since we got back?”

“Last I checked, she was talking to that Cinder chick. Comparing notes, or...something like it.”

  
Summer landed lithely on her feet, then bounced off the ground backwards. She held her scythe, Crescent Moon, and fired off a shot. The Savior evaded the bullet, holding his sword high. 

“You’ve...gotten...slower,” she panted. 

“So have you,” the Savior replied. He wasn’t panting, which ticked Summer off. 

Summer deactivated Crescent Moon, slinging it across her back. “So, you don’t actually know where those Grimm are?”

“No. I’m interested, though. From the description, they’re a kind of Grimm I haven’t seen in a couple thousand years. Anyways, how are the little ones.” 

Summer smiled. “Growing.”

“So, when were you going to tell me that yours was another Silver-Eye?” the Savior asked. 

Summer flinched. “Sorry. I...I meant to tell you, really. I just…” 

He held up a hand. “No. Just...no.”

Summer stopped. 

The Savior sighed. Then ducked and rolled to the side as a bullet went over his head. 

“Summer! Get back!” Qrow Branwen jumped into the clearing. He fully brought out his own scythe, pointing it at the Savior. 

“No! Qrow, wait!” Qrow lunged at the Savior, who dodged. The scythe slashed across a tree, bark flying. The Savior jumped backwards from Qrow’s next attack. Summer rushed forward and threw Qrow backwards. “No! Stop!”

Wood cracked. The tree Qrow’s attack had hit broke, and fell over. 

A scream of pain split through the forest. The Savior rushed forward, struggling, pulling the tree off of Summer. He knelt besides her. 

“Owwwwwww,” Summer groaned. Blood trickled down the side of her face. “I...can’t really feel my legs. Or arms. Or face.” She chuckled. “Guess that’s kinda good.”

The Savior touched his hand to her cheek. Qrow hesitantly walked over. 

“Ick.” She coughed. 

“Summer...I…” Qrow started. 

“You’ve done enough,” the Savior snarled. 

“Stop.”

Both looked back at Summer. 

“Get her to a hospital,” the Savior said. He got up and started walking off. 

“Where are you going?”

“Please...stay here…” Summer called weakly. She coughed. Qrow knelt besides her. “You’re dying.”

The Savior stopped. 

“Don’t let...anything happen...to Ruby...either of you.” Summer coughed. “Please.”

The Savior didn’t look at her. Without answering, he disappeared through the bushes. 

 


	9. The Mad Smith

“We near Gundred’s forge,” the Savior said, slowing down. Emerald dismounted from her Griffon, which was panting. The Savior had walked the distance whereas she had flown. 

She didn’t know how to feel about that. If Fabrius could match the Savior, and the Savior was clearly leagues above anything she could do, how could she defeat Fabrius?

“Gundred can do many impossible things,” the Savior said. “He’s forged many blades. Something to kill Fabrius is the least of his skills.”

Emerald stared at the door set into the mountain. She put a hand on it. It looked like a standard wooden door, but she could feel that it was metal. It did, however, have the same texture as wood. 

The detail on it was flawless. 

The Savior reached up and rapped politely on the door. A hollow  _ ka-thunk _ echoed from what Emerald assumed was the forge. The door swung open. 

“It’s not locked?” Emerald asked. 

“Never attack a weapon-smith,” the Savior said quietly. He quickly ducked down, shoving Emerald to the ground, as a barrage of darts shot over his head. 

“Especially a mad one,” the Savior added. He rose, peeked into the room, then stealthily crawled in. Emerald crawled in. It took her that long to realize she couldn’t see the Savior any more. 

“Uh...Steadfast? Dude?”

“ _ Shh _ ,” the Savior shushed her. He was standing right beside her? She looked, then looked closer. 

His armor had changed color to blend in with the walls, which looked wooden. She blinked. The Savior crept through the room. Emerald followed, keeping track of him easily. She had pulled the same trick many times with her Semblance, but she wasn’t sure how the Savior did it. Magic? Or was he just like that? She’d never really asked Salem about what the Grimm  _ were _ , actually. 

She stepped over a pressure plate. Had the Savior noticed, or had he just not told her? Either way was equally worrying. 

She gave a passing glance at several gears sitting on nearby shelves. Gears, wires, and a stylized pendant with an ‘s’ on it. Weird, but nothing to shocking. 

The Savior reached the other side of the room, then slowly opened the door. On the other side was a long hallway suspended over a very active volcano. Giant axe blades lazily swung back and forth over the bridge, and the Savior timed his steps to walk past the blades. Emerald ducked past them quickly, keeping pace with the Savior. 

“Here for your millenial equipment reforging?” a weathered voice called. Ahead, situated in the very center of the bridge, was the forge. A small, bearded man was bent over it. He wore leather, though Emerald suspected it was actually metal patterned to look like leather. His hair was white, and over his open eye was a monocle. He had thick gloves on, and was restringing a large crossbow. 

The Savior wearily stepped up next to the forge. Emerald followed suit, but noticed that the Savior’s hand never left his sword. “Yes, and I have brought a guest this time.”

“Ah, yes, I had wondered what she was doing here--either a concubine, or a demigod. I can never tell the difference.”

“We’re here for weapons,” the Savior said before Emerald could say anything. 

“No one ever comes here for anything else,” grumbled Gundred. He hefted the crossbow, and aimed it at a wall. He fired and, even though there was no bolt loaded, a silver blast of energy fired and blew rocks from the wall. “I make margarita glasses too, you know.”

“I neither know nor care what a margarita is,” the Savior stated. 

Gundred looked at the Savior. “The usual?” he asked. 

“Yes.”

Gundred turned to Emerald. “You look like the sneaky type. Something lightweight?”

“I need weapons to kill someone tough,” Emerald told him. 

“Generally speaking, that is indeed what weapons are for,” Gundred said. Several shelves floated into the air beside him, and he put the crossbow on one of them. He carefully selected several items that Emerald doubted were going to be used for smithing--a ball of twine, a glass vial contained several cat hairs, and a snickerdoodle.

“You use kamas that are, insert surprised statement, also guns, yes?” Gundred asked. 

“Yeah.”

“And a rogue... _ tsk _ . Lighter armor can be troublesome. Too light and it’s worthless, too heavy it impairs your speed and stealth.” He started walking around past her, patting her shoulders, sides and legs. 

“What are you doing?” Emerald said, squirming. 

“It’s necessary, unless you want armor too big or too small,” Gundred asked. He stretched out her arm. 

“Here’s a question,” Gundred asked. “Fabrius is definitely faster than you appear to be. Do you think a new kama will help with that?”

“Wait, how did you know--?”

“I know many things I’m not supposed too,” Gundred interrupted. “Answer me.”

“Well, um, I…”

“Hadn’t thought of it? Hmm. I can make you faster, but that would require…” He stopped, looking her in the eyes. Both of them were opened, and Emerald realized he was blind. Or at least looked blind. 

“Another question. How badly do you want him dead?”

Emerald gritted her teeth. 

Gundred grinned. A spark shone in his eyes. “I can help you. A few cybernetic enhancements will get you faster than Fabrius, but packing the punch required to take him down. His Semblance gives him defense depending upon how much damage he’s taken. You’d need to take him down in as few hits as possible. And you’d need to evade his attacks, while doing so.”

Emerald nodded. “Do it.”

Gundred grinned wide enough that Emerald could see his teeth. “Ah. You have willpower. And guts. Very well. I’ll start you up, then move onto your equipment. By the time I’m done, you could kill Fabrius, an army, and, if you had the faith, a God.”

  
“You’re sure of this?” Fabrius asked. Norton nodded. “Damn. This...you know what this means?”

Norton nodded again. 

“Go get Ozpin,” Fabrius told him. “And Weiss. But  _ don’t  _ tell Ruby.”

“Um...doesn’t this concern her?” Norton asked. 

Fabrius glared at him. “She doesn’t understand how this all works. I’d prefer to talk to Ozpin before telling Ruby, in case...something needs to be done.”

“Ookay,” Norton said slowly. He walked out of the cabin. Fabrius sat back in a chair. He pulled out a mirror, checked it, and, satisfied, put the mirror back in a drawer. 

“Worried, Fabrius?” a level, suave voice asked. Fabrius jumped up. 

“Relax,” the voice echoed throughout the room. “I just came to talk, Fabrius.”

“Apocrypha Incentive,” Fabrius growled. 

“Yes, that is in fact, what humanity decided to start calling me. None of that ‘you get a name, and  _ you _ get a name,’ bullshit here. Nope, I am  _ a _ Apocrypha Incentive. An?  _ An  _ Apocrypha Incentive.”

“You have about ten seconds to go before I kill you. No, wait--before  _ Ozpin _ kills you.”

“Oh, no! Not the Great and Terrible Ozma! Please! I repent my sins!” The mocking laughter was not Fabrius’ only clue to the Incentive’s reply. 

“You know, isn’t actually what I came to talk about,” the creature told him. 

“What then? Secrets of the universe, best left forgotten? Why Ozpin is planning to backstab me? Please.”

“If you want to know secrets of the universe, I could tell you, but I’m afraid the ones that are best left forgotten have actually been forgotten,” the voice said dryly. “Anyhoo, we need to have a chat.”

“No. I really don’t feel like I need to chat with you.”

“Ouch. You are on  _ fire _ . But if I really was going to mind control you, I’d have probably done it by now.”

“No, cause you can’t.”

Silence. “Holy shit,” the voice echoed. “What the fuck? How--oh.  _ That _ . Yeah, you’re right.”

“Do you have a name?” Fabrius asked suddenly. He had the sinking suspicion that this Grimm was different. 

“I am commonly called Nonsensicus Bullshiticus, by some people, but I prefer Ender, if you will. If you don’t recognize the name, that’s because I wiped it from humanity. My bad! Oh, I also  _ founded _ the Apocrypha Incentive, so yeah. Anyway, I was wanting to talk. About the ‘thing’.”

Fabrius folded his arms. Ender couldn’t control him, but that didn’t roll out manipulation or lying. “You have exactly one minute.”

  
Weiss sat fidgeting in a chair. Ozpin sighed. “Say it one more time,” he told Ender. 

“Urgh. Look, Ozma, for the first time since you started this war, I’ve met a human who’s first impulse wasn’t to kill me. This gave me pause. Why not armistice between us?”

Ozpin looked to Fabrius. “Don’t look at me. I don’t know anything about these things.”

Ozpin turned to Weiss. “So. You threw off that Faunus so your friend wouldn’t be caught, right?”

Weiss nodded. 

“And you did not tell her to do that?” 

“No. I didn’t. And if I had so wished, you’d have never even noticed me. Instead, no, I chose to come and try to talk to you.”

“Whaddya think?” Fabrius asked. Ozpin stroked his chin. “It’s unclear. His behavior makes me want to believe him--but I’ve met him before. I’ve met few Grimm more dangerous than he.”

“Oh, you mean, the False Savior, or the Gigas, the Wyvern, Leviathan…” Ender laughed. “Yeah, when you put it that way, I’m way tougher than all of those assholes! Thanks, Ozma!”

“Ozpin. It’s Ozpin.”

“Really? You change your name multiple times a century and expect everyone to remember it? Fuck that. You’re Ozma now. Deal with it.”

“If he were trying to manipulate you, he’d go about it differently.” Ozpin paused. “I’ll leave the decision to you.” 

“Really?”

“It’s your ship.”

“It’s your student.”

“On your ship.”

“Grrrrrrrrrrr...fine. Both of you can stay--but the two of you are on very, very thin ice.” He glared pointedly at Weiss, and where he assumed Ender was. 

“Standing over here,” Ender stated. 

“Then don’t go around invisible. And none of you tell Ruby.” Fabrius paused. “She may be your student, but dammit, I don’t feel like telling her her teammate threw someone off the edge of a ship.”

“Agreed,” Ozpin replied. 

  
“Weiss retired to the room with the rest of them,” Fabrius told Ozpin. “Headache still going strong.”

“We dodged a bullet,” Ozpin replied. “We could have returned to find a smoking crater where everyone had gone crazy and killed each other.”

“I’m just glad it’s over with,” Fabrius said, leaning on the railing. 

_ “Fabrius! _ ”

The scream of pure rage yanked them out of their conversation. Fabrius turned around to see a very, very angry Ruby Rose charging him down. 

_ “You bastard!”  _ Yang grabbed Ruby from behind and restrained her. 

“Might I ask what happened?” Fabrius asked calmly. 

Ruby broke free of Yang. “Unlike you, Weiss actually does tell me things that she thinks involve me.”

Fabrius stiffened. In the background, he saw Weiss peeking from around a corner. 

“Ruby, maybe calm down a minute,” Blake said as she caught up.

“Not a chance!” Ruby glared at Fabrius. “What were you going to tell me if you had decided that you had to kill Weiss? Which, apparently, you had thought you might need to do? Were you just going to tell me she fell off, too?”

Before Fabrius could reply, an ear-deafening screech split the air. 

“Continue later?” Fabrius asked Ruby. She nodded, and the two ran to the side of the ship and stared over the edge. A white wing flapped through the clouds. 

“It’s a dragon,” Ozpin said calmly. “Don’t worry. I can take a--” A second screech echoed on the other side of the ship. “Two’s pushing it.”

“We can handle the one on the left,” Fabrius declared, clenching a hand into a fist. 

“Just keep it from hitting the ship with fire,” Ozpin told him, jumping on the railing at the edge of the ship. “One blast could take this down.”

"Got it," Fabrius replied. He looked at Ruby. "Ready?" Ruby nodded. "Let's do this."


End file.
